


Witchery at the Midnight Hour

by Th13f0fH0p3



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, F/F, F/M, Witch AU, Witch Cassandra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:02:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27115822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Th13f0fH0p3/pseuds/Th13f0fH0p3
Summary: "Contrary to popular belief, Cassandra is not a witch, or at least, not an evil one. She doesn’t believe she’s evil, Wiccan’s are, as per their nature, not. Sure, she plays the occasional joke on the nearby kid trying to sneak into her cabin, but beyond that, she keeps her herbs and tentative spells to herself. Or at least she did before a wandering human stumbles upon her cabin, locked far in the deepest reaches of the woods, and knocks on her door."
Relationships: Cassandra/Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled), Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel
Comments: 4
Kudos: 58





	Witchery at the Midnight Hour

**Author's Note:**

> CW: Mention of Rape

Contrary to popular belief, Cassandra is not a witch, or at least, not an evil one. She doesn’t believe she’s evil, Wiccan’s are, as per their nature, not. Sure, she plays the occasional joke on the nearby kid trying to sneak into her cabin, but beyond that, she keeps her herbs and tentative spells to herself. Or at least she did before a wandering human stumbles upon her cabin, locked far in the deepest reaches of the woods, and knocks on her door. She’s having a nice meal at the time, some rabbit stew accompanied by a dark wine, when the knock comes. For a moment, she blames the trees rapping up against the door, but then another one comes, more insistent this time. Sighing, she gets up, puts her cloak on, smoothes her tunic, and then opens her door. Standing in front of her is the most beautiful woman she’s ever seen, short brown hair, glittering green eyes, a petite nose and soft chin. The woman’s looking up at her in shock, only slightly shorter than Cassandra.

“Um, hello,” the brunette smiles easily. “Are you Cassandra, the Witch of the Whispering Woods?”

“That I am,” Cassandra blinks at her slowly. “And you are?”

“Oh, I’m Rapunzel,” her smile drops slightly when the other woman doesn’t return it. “My boyfriend’s ill and I was told that you maybe... could help him?”

“Of course,” the black-haired woman smiles then. “For a price.”

“Anything,” she breathes, suddenly serious, reaching out and grabbing her hands. “He’s sick and… they’re not sure he’s going to make it.”

_ Oh, precious _ , “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he does. Come in.”

Gently disengaging from the brunette, Cassandra turns and welcomes her in, letting the woman look around as she goes to her work station. She takes out various herbs, setting them down and preparing a vial. She crushes the herbs in a mortar, adds her liquid base, a sprig of rosemary, and seals it in the vial.

“Now, make him drink this, and he’ll be better within a few days,” she hands her the vial, the herbs swirling inside harmlessly.

“And what’s my price?” Rapunzel looks up at her curiously.

“Your first born,” Cassandra says, gauging her reaction, huffing in amusement when she finds horror. “I jest. All I desire is a lock of your hair.”

“That’s it?” She looks relieved.

“That’s it,” the witch repeats back, nodding as she hands her a pair of scissors. “Human hair can be useful in a variety of things and I’m running low.”

“You can’t use your own?” Rapunzel quirks an eyebrow as she cuts off a little of her hair.

Cassandra doesn’t humor the question with a response, just gives her a look and says, “Alright, it’s best you get on your way before it gets dark.”

The brunette nods, but pauses at the doorway, “Thank you.”

The woman returns a few days later, this time as Cassandra’s out arguing with the Fae Folk in the area, “All I’m saying is, if you would stop stealing my sugar, we wouldn’t have a problem!”

She gets a titter in reply, as well as three nuts thrown at her head. She’s a moment from letting them have it when she hears a familiar voice cry out.

“Cassandra!” An excited Rapunzel grins at her, waving her hand and holding a basket in the other.

“Oh great, a returning customer,” she mutters under her breath, turning to the woman with a weak smile. “Raps, was it?”

Of course, she’s feigning her inability to remember names properly, the woman’s been on her mind 24/7, “It’s Rapunzel, but I think that’s a lovely nickname.”

“Ah, yes, Rapunzel. You were here about your boyfriend, weren’t you? How is he?” She looks behind the woman, as if expecting him there leading a crazed mob.

Thankfully enough, the people around these parts seemed to accept her strange witchery with nothing more than curious stares, a relief from the less than welcoming torches and pitchforks she’d grown accustomed to back where she used to live.

“Yes, he’s doing just fine thanks to you. In fact, he wanted to repay you by giving you these,” Rapunzel uncovers the basket to reveal still hot buns, a dozen of them neatly separated into rows of four.

“Oh, this is…” Cassandra allows herself a smile. “Thank you, is he a baker?”

“By trade,” she nods. “He’s a good one too. You wouldn’t think it looking at him though.”

“Scruffy, is he?” Internally wincing, she hopes Rapunzel isn’t too offended.

Instead, she actually laughs, “More than you know. He’s a little strange, I have a feeling you two would get along famously.”

Cassandra snorts, a small smile playing on her face, “I’m sure… would you like some tea?”

And that’s how Cassandra found herself sitting across from her most recent customer, sipping at matcha tea, laughing more in one hour than she had in the past few years. It was a strange feeling, but Rapunzel had a way of putting her at ease.

“So, Eugene’s all covered in flour, and he’s sneezing all over the place, and my father walks in and- the look on his face, you would not believe,” Rapunzel laughing as she gets through her story, holding her sides. 

Strangely enough, so is Cassandra, “Are you serious? That’s how he met your father?”

“I know, right? World’s worst impression,” the brunette shakes her head. “He loves him now though, says there couldn’t be anyone better for me.”

Cassandra chuckles, sadness twinging in her heart for a moment before she stomps on it, “I’m sure there truly isn’t. You seem like soulmates.”

Rapunzel perks up, then, “Do you believe in them?”

“I…” She thinks for a moment. “I suppose I do.”

“Strange, I thought you’d be more cynical,” she looks at her curiously, as if she couldn’t imagine anything different.

“And I thought humans were more scared of the unknown,” Cassandra gives her a wicked grin. “Yet I suppose we’re both surprised by each other.”

“You can say that again,” she looks down into her tea. “You know, when I came to your doorstep, I wasn’t sure what to expect. When I saw someone, not so unlike me, I guess I just… I dunno, it’s silly.”

“Not enough,” the witch’s grin softens.

“It’s natural for me to make friends with those I meet, for some reason, I thought you might be different,” Rapunzel looks up and smiles and it’s as blinding as the sun.

Cassandra wakes up to the sound of the wind and rain trying to blow her house down. It's not unusual to have a storm this early in the spring season, but this intensity is a little strange, she admits. She’s about to roll over and go back to sleep when she remembers the chickens. Rolling out of bed, she tugs on her boots and cloak and heads outside. The wind whips across her face, rain stinging her eyes as she stumbles to the coop, quickly closing the hatches so they don’t get flooded. It’s a second later when lightning crackles overhead and down comes a tree the size of a giant, crashing down next to her house.

“Shit,” she curses, scrambling away from the extending branches, feeling the wood break the skin on her ankles.

Thankfully, it’s nothing more than a few scratches, and she’s able to get up and check on her horse too. Fidella’s restless, shuffling inside her pen and whinnying at Cassandra as she comes close. She murmurs a greeting and takes one of her blankets and puts it on Fidella’s back, which reassures her slightly.

“There girl, you’re okay,” Cassandra strokes her muzzle, trying to calm her. “It’ll be alright.”

Once she looks like she’s not going to run away the second she hears anything out of the ordinary, Cassandra returns to her house to tend to her wounds. They’re deeper than she thought, and they certainly hurt more than they should, but she knows it’s nothing she can’t take care of. Hiking up her skirt, she grabs her medical salve and brushes away the blood with a clean rag, applying the salve after it’s clean. It’s cold and soothing, a welcome relief from the burning of her ankles. Absentmindedly, she wonders about Rapunzel and whether she’s alright. She shakes her head to get rid of her thoughts, it wasn’t her problem, and more importantly, she had better things to worry about. Example number one, her roof was leaking. Giving a heavy sigh, Cassandra grabs a nearby bucket and puts it under the spot where it’s leaking. Example number two, what was she going to do about that tree? She supposes she can sell the wood to someone in town, though they would have to come and get it and she doesn’t much like the idea of more people knowing where she lives. Oh well, she’d have plenty of time to think it over till daybreak the next morning.

And she does. She doesn’t sleep at all throughout the night, the storm lasting nearly the whole time. It’s as she's standing in front of her house, hands on her hips, that she gets a visitor.

“Cassandra!” Rapunzel calls out in greeting as she approaches. “I just came to see how you were, that storm hit everybody pretty hard.”

She grunts in response, nodding her head, “Hey, uh, Raps, do you happen to have any expertise in wood work?”

“I do, as a matter of fact… you asking because of that tree?” Rapunzel points to the crooked, massive thing.

“Yeah, I need to get rid of it,” Cassandra scratches the back of her neck, shifting on her feet. “You think you could help me?”

“Oh I- yeah, yeah I could do that,” the brunette looks uncertain for a moment before her face lights up again. “No problem. I’ll just have to rent some gear and… yeah, sounds like a plan. I’ll come by tomorrow, okay?”

“Sure,” she shrugs. “Sounds good to me.”

“Great, I’ll see you then, Cass,” the woman waves goodbye as she turns, her smile infectious.

“Bye,” she waves back, returning the smile.

True to her word, Rapunzel returns the next day with a horse drawn wagon in tow. A brown haired man wearing a green tunic and tan pants rides atop it, a grin across his scruffy, yet attractive, face.

“Hey Cass, this is my boyfriend, Eugene,” Rapunzel explains to a wary Cassandra, and the man waves.

She gives a half-hearted wave back, “Got it.”

“I hope you don’t mind, but he insisted on coming along, said he was eager to meet the woman who saved his life,” Rapunzel gives her a reassuring smile. “I apologize in advance for anything he might say.”

“It’s nothing to worry about, Raps,” Cassandra shakes her head, smiling. “I’m sure he’s nothing I can’t handle.”

As Cassandra finds out later, Eugene is a little more than she can handle. He’s eccentric in much the same way Rapunzel is, but he’s more like a barking chihuahua than an excited golden retriever. Not that she interacts with him much, as she just watches the two of them cut the tree into more manageable pieces, listening in to their conversation. Currently, they’re talking about Eugene’s friend and fellow baker, Lance.

“-and he goes, ‘I ain’t never seen this before’, as if we hadn’t stolen it the day prior,” Eugene cackles. “Can you believe that?”

Rapunzel laughs along, seemingly at ease, “I can, Lance is the sort to get into all types of trouble. Hey Cass, have you ever met him?”

“Oh, I doubt it, I don’t go into town very often,” Cassandra shrugs. “Not much for me there.”

“I bet you have. He’s a pretty hard guy to miss, 6’ 2, dark skin, bald head, stupid goatee, muscles of a god,” Eugene pipes up, talking to her for the first time.

“Careful, Eugene, I’m going to think you have a crush on him,” Rapunzel jokes, and Cassandra tenses, expecting… well, she isn’t sure.

The man just smiles and elbows her, “Aw, feeling insecure?”

She certainly wasn’t expecting that, even as the brunette laughs back, “No, just curious is all.”

“So, Cassandra, do you have anyone special in your life?” Eugene looks up from his work to look curiously at the witch.

“Eugene!” Rapunzel hisses, elbowing him in the side.

“Not much of anyone in my life, actually,” Cassandra dismisses her concern with a curious look of her own. “Just Rapunzel, at the moment, why?”

“Just wondering if you were out here by yourself,” he shrugs. “I don’t like the thought of someone being alone in such a place.”

“There’s no need to worry, I have my ways,” her smile is devious and she can only imagine that Eugene’s feeling something similar to prey right now.

His girlfriend breaks the tension, clapping her hands, “Alright, enough talking, you two. Time to get back to work.”

So they do, hauling small pieces of wood onto the carriage till sundown, where they bid their goodbyes and promise to return the next day for the rest of it. As they leave, Cassandra hides a ward of protection in Rapunzel’s bag. If anything attempts to harm her, it will alert her. For good measure, she slips one in Eugene’s as well; he was integral to Rapunzel’s happiness, whether she liked it or not. So she waves them out, telling them to be safe, and then sits in her chair, examining her latest project. It’s a commission from someone in town, a blessing for good harvests. She has most of the ingredients at the ready, but she’s been so preoccupied with Rapunzel’s visits that she just hasn’t had the time to gather the rest. She’d go tomorrow, but she surely can’t leave the two of them alone at her place, her house vulnerable to their pickings, not that she believed Rapunzel would do such a thing. Eugene, however, was an unknown variable, no matter how many stories she told her, they wouldn’t do until she got to know the man herself. Briefly, she considered putting a ward on the house, but felt it too extreme. As she mulls over her problem, Owl, her black cat, settles on her lap, just returned from a hunt. Absentmindedly, she pets him, squinting at the phial in her hand.

“What am I going to do, Owl?” She looks down at him, frowning.

“ _ Mrow _ ,” he provides helpfully, blinking at her slowly.

“You want me to go out now?” Cassandra sighs. “I suppose.”

“ _ Mrrrooooow _ ,” Owl’s tail swishes.

“You’re right, there’s no time like the present,” the witch smiles and pats his head, standing up slowly so that he jumps off. 

She pulls on her cloak and boots and makes her way into the forest, towards the town. A glowing fungus often used for blessings grows at the base of a waterfall, just inside a cave. It’s a popular bathing spot, so she hopes she doesn’t encounter anyone. To her luck, no one’s there when she arrives, just the moon as her companion. She’s able to climb the rocks into the cave easily, avoiding the roaring waterfall just in front of it. She follows the flow of the fungus, scooping some into a phial and storing it in her bag. As she’s about to leave, she hears giggling, and looks out across the water. There, she can see a familiar brunette shedding her clothes.  _ Oh shit, it’s Rapunzel _ . She’s… never seen a human woman naked before. She’s more beautiful than she could’ve imagined. Sure, she’s seen her own body, an emulation of the species she holds so dear, her gift making her a little different than them, but never another’s. No, this was different. So maybe Cassandra pauses at Rapunzel’s form, dipping into the moonlit water, watching. So maybe she notices the soft mounds of flesh on her chest, the curvature of her body, her slight frame. So maybe an unfamiliar feeling of heat pools in her lower abdomen, her hands itching to just  _ touch _ . So maybe she steps out into the moonlight and clears her throat. So what?

Rapunzel immediately responds, looking around wildly, “Who’s there?”

“Just me, Raps,” Cassandra pulls her hood off, attempting to avert her eyes. “I was collecting some ingredients. I see you’re fond of this place as well.”

“Oh, I see,” the brunette looks down for a moment. “Would you like to join me?”

“To swim?” Her eyebrows shoot up into her hairline. “I’m not sure-”

“Please, Cass, just this once,” Rapunzel looks up at her, pleading.

Damn her weak will, “Sure.”

So that’s how she finds herself shedding her layers under the gaze of a curious Rapunzel. She’s down to her undershirt and underskirt now, just haven taken off her shirt. She reaches for the bottom of her undershirt, glancing over at Rapunzel. She’s floating in the middle of the lake, and Cassandra can’t tell if it’s the moonlight or what, but she swears she’s blushing.

“I’ve never seen a witch’s body before,” she explains, sounding almost breathless.

Cassandra chuckles, taking off her skirt and underwear, throwing it into the pile of clothes, and slipping into the water, “And I’ve never seen a human’s before. It seems we continue to surprise another.”

“So it does,” Rapunzel tilts her head as she wades in the water, arms swirling to keep her afloat. “Can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead,” the dark haired woman smiles.

“Why did you help me? Or, I guess, why do you help people at all?” Her tone isn’t accusatory, but her words strike a sort of defensive cord within Cassandra.

“You humans seem to forget easily,” she says quietly. “I am a witch, not a villain. I do not wish any ill will on anyone. All I desire is to be left in peace.”

Even in the dim moonlight, Rapunzel’s expression is clear as day, “No, no, that’s not at all what I meant to imply. I merely meant that you seem to enjoy your solitude.

She sighs, “Like any other job, I receive payment for my help. It’s the way I live, not at all so different from your lover, see?”

The brunette is quiet then, looking down into the water as if it will reveal the way to make up for what she said. After a moment, she swims over to Cassandra and pulls her further into the water, looking up and pointing at the sky.

“See there, that’s Polaris,” her delicate face peers up. “Some stars disappear and escape our grasp, but that one always stays. It guides me home on the darkest of nights.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Cassandra grips her hand tight, letting it float between them as the overwhelming urge to tear down the world for her rises.

“Because I want you to know that if you ever need to find me, just follow that star, and there I’ll be,” Rapunzel smiles and this time, she can bear to look.

Cassandra doesn’t sleep at all the night that Rapunzel and her swim together, just sitting at her desk working on commissions by lamplight. By the time the sun comes over the horizon, she’s moved on to tending to the chickens, letting them out of their hutch and into the pen, throwing seed for them to feed on. From there, she goes deeper into the woods, collecting ingredients for her dinner. When she comes back, Rapunzel and Eugene are dealing with the tree, doing as they did yesterday. She greets them with a small smile, lingering on Rapunzel for a moment before entering her cabin. Putting all her gathered items away, she comes back outside and sits on her rocking chair, watching them work. The sun’s started to set once they’ve finally finished, and on a whim, she invites them to stay for dinner. Eugene politely declines, says he has to get ready for tomorrow, but encourages Rapunzel to accept. And she does, overly excited in the same way a dog might be once their owner returned from a long day of work, almost like she expected them to never come back. A pang of sympathy thuds inside Cassandra’s chest. The woman must’ve thought she was still angry over last night, though to be truthful, she never really was.

Rapunzel insists on helping with dinner, though there’s not much to be done. The witch lets her saute the garlic, leek, and mushroom while she takes out the wine and homemade vegetable stock. After a few minutes, they add the rice and wine and bring the dish to a boil. Once they’ve finished a few other steps, the risotto is ready and they sit down to eat, accompanied by a curious Owl. Rapunzel startles when she sees him, then grins and asks if this is her cat. She just nods, scolding the cat when he jumps onto the table and steals a bite of the dish off her plate, scurrying away afterwards.

Cassandra sighs, “Sorry, that was Owl, he’s a bit of a scoundrel.”

“He’s quite cute,” Rapunzel says, then looks at her in the eyes. “Just like… well, you know.”

The witch blushes, looking down, and when she’s looked back up again, Rapunzel is digging into her food like nothing happened. Figuring she imagined it, Cassandra returns to her own food, thoughtfully chewing and taking a sip of the leftover wine she split between the two of them.

“This is pretty good,” Rapunzel says suddenly, catching her attention again.

“What? Did you figure a witch couldn’t cook?” She teases.

“Not at all, I just wondered how creative you could get with such limited resources. I mean, you don’t go to the market, do you?” And then there’s that look of curiosity again, like Cassandra is the most enigmatic thing in the world.

“No, all of this is foraged from either my garden or the woods,” she explains. “Villages and the like are just too much for me.”

Rapunzel nods and hums, as if she gets it, “Sometimes it’s a little difficult to be around so many people for me, too.”

“Is that so?” That does catch her off guard.

She snorts, an undignified sound, though she doesn’t seem to care much for embarrassment, “Even I can get tired from so many people.”

“Huh,” is all she says for a moment, looking at her in confusion. “It’s just- you seem so… outgoing.”

“I am,” Rapunzel shrugs. “But it’s exhausting balancing all those different relationships at once. The way we act around different people, navigating people’s emotions, it’s a real drain on your energy.”

“And that’s why I don’t live in a village,” Cassandra exaggerates her point by sticking her fork out in the air. “It’s just too much.”

“You know, I kind of envy you, Miss Witch of the Whispering Woods,” the brunette does a similar gesture. “Being all alone out here seems like the kind of solitude I could get used to.”

“Well, not so much solitude around here anymore,” her friend jokes.

“And there won’t be if I have anything to do with it,” she smiles, kicking her leg lightly under the table.

“Oh dear, whatever will I do with myself?” Cassandra grins back. “With all this company, people are going to think I’m approachable and my reputation will be ruined.”

“Fear not, Lady Cassandra, those who dare approach this house will be warded off by my eccentric nature,” oh, how ironic that statement was.

“I still need customers, Raps,” she shakes her head, a smile on her face.

“I think you’ll find I’m all the customers you need,” and there’s that slightly flirtatious look in her eyes again, and this time Cassandra is sure it’s real because she winks just before she stands up. “Well, I better get home. Thank you for the meal, Cass. I’ll make sure to pay you back sometime.”

“The pleasure was all mine,” and for the first time, they hug.

Rapunzel is ecstatic, leaving with a bounce in her step and an eccentric wave as she departs. Meanwhile, Cassandra watches her go, a goofy smile on her face as she watches her leave. Once she realizes what she's done, she buries her face in her hands and groans. She cannot have feelings for Rapunzel, she just can't.

Things are… fine, from then on. It's not like Cassandra is overwhelmed with feelings at every sighting of the brunette, not at all. Except it is like that, and she's not how much longer she can feasibly hold up this charade. 

She’s still sleeping one morning when all of the sudden she wakes up, and it’s not until she notices the vibrating stone, identical to the one she slipped in Rapunzel’s bag, that she knows why. Swearing, she puts the stone into her pocket and pulls on her cloak, rushing to the stable and riding Fidella as fast as the mare can bear. The stone pulsates faster as she nears Rapunzel’s location, and her breath quickens with it. It’s clear to see what’s happened when she sees a tipped over basket, spilling its contents onto the grass.

“Woah, girl,” she pulls on Fidella’s reins and she stops quickly. 

Cassandra gets off the mare and kneels down next to the ground, seeing tracks heading deeper into the woods. She commands Fidella to go back home and follows the tracks. As she nears a clearing, she sees several figures huddled around a burned out campfire, one of them hovering above a brunette figure. Rage fills her as she crouches down and hides in the bushes. She can hear them talking, but just barely.

"So I was thinking, we could sell her for a pretty good price, huh?" One of them suggests.

"Might as well have some fun with her first though," another one snickers and elbows his companion. "If you know what I mean."

“Don’t be gross, Sebastian,” the first one gives him a look of disgust.

“No, I think he might have the right idea,” the man hovering above Rapunzel grins as he picks her up. “I’ll just be right back.”

He walks away from the group further into the woods, Rapunzel screaming, though muffled, and Cassandra follows. They get a good distance away before he puts her down and goes to undo his belt and Cassandra pops out of the bushes. She’s on him before he even knows what’s happening, wrapping her arm around his neck and squeezing it tight. Not a sound comes from him as he slowly falls to his knees, grabbing her arm and trying to pull it away. It’s in vain though, he’s dead within a minute. Rapunzel stares up at her, wide eyed and terrified, sobbing as she draws near her. Oh right, she still has her hood on. As carefully as she can, she moves to take off her hood.

“Hey, it’s just me, Raps,” she whispers, kneeling down and ungagging her.

“Oh God, Cass. They- they were going to-” Rapunzel breaks down crying and Cassandra grits her teeth as she undoes her bindings.

As soon as they come off, Rapunzel’s arms are around her, hugging her tight, “I’ve got you, I’ve got you.”

They’re there for a while before a voice comes from the trees, “Hey, it’s my turn, Ken-”

Cassandra whirls around, pulling out the sword at her side, a spell manifesting in her other hand. The man, Sebastian, pulls out a dagger and charges her. She easily dispatches him, letting him fall to the ground with a thud. A moment later, the rest of the ruffians emerge, all holding daggers or swords. One holds a bow and arrow, aimed at her. She doesn’t back down though, just glares hard.

“Put the sword down and we can talk,” one of them says.

She laughs and then says, “Fuck you.”

In the same instant, she releases the spell and a large cloud of fog covers the whole area. She can hear them cursing as she grabs Rapunzel’s hand, the two of them slipping out of sight. They run for a while until Cassandra deems it safe enough, walking the rest of the way to her cabin. Inside, Rapunzel collapses onto her bed, breathing hard, still shellshocked from before.

“Raps, it’s okay. You’re okay now, this cabin is protected against anything and I promise if anything gets inside, I’ll protect you with my life,” Cassandra kneels in front of her, holding her hands.

Rapunzel just starts crying and pulls her into another hug. She lets herself get pulled up onto the bed, and lies down next to her as they hug. After a while, Rapunzel falls asleep, exhausted from the whole ordeal, and Cassandra gently disengages herself, going to make herself a cup of tea. As she goes, a hand shoots out and grabs her own, and she looks back to see Rapunzel looking up at her, eyes still sleepy.

"Stay, please," she murmurs, hugging her pillow.

Cassandra gives her a soft smile and goes back to bed, letting the shorter woman wrap her arms around her waist and pull her close. The two of them fall asleep like that, and before she falls asleep, Cassandra can swear she feels a pair of lips on her forehead.

When she wakes up, Rapunzel is gone, and she looks around wildly until she sees her on her most comfortable chair, sipping on some tea. She breathes a sigh of relief as she sits up, and the brunette gives her a teasing, half hearted grin.

"Miss me?" She quirks her eyebrows.

"I- uh, no-" Fumbling with her words, Cassandra gives up.

"No?" Rapunzel pouts.

"I mean, um, look at that, I think it's time to get you home," she gets up and smooths out her tunic. "C'mon, we can ride Fidella."

Rapunzel looks down then, getting quiet, "What if… um, what if they come back?"

Cassandra's eyes soften, grabbing her hand, "Hey, I promise nothing bad will happen to you as long as I'm around."

The brunette looks at their intertwined hands and smiles, "Sure, okay."

Rapunzel doesn't come for a while after that day. She figures it's because she's still traumatized from what happened, and she's more than happy to give her the time to heal. When she does finally come around, she comes alone.

"Raps!" Cassandra wraps her in a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm great, Cass," she smiles. "I was thinking we could have a picnic?"

She holds up a picnic basket, "Sure thing."

Then the two of them are off into the woods, Cassandra leading them to a nearby grove. She holds her hands over Rapunzel's eyes as they draw near, the both of them giggling as they walk along. Once they arrive, she lets her look at the scenery.

There's a babbling brook running across the length of the clearing, apple trees surrounding the perimeter, and Cassandra leans up to grab one of the fruits. They settle down in the middle of the clearing, near the brook, and Rapunzel pulls out their meal. It's a collection of cheeses accompanied by freshly baked bread and a bottle of wine. They talk quietly, almost reverently, about anything and everything, giggling and getting closer and closer as time passes. Eventually, when they're both tipsy and full, they're laying next to each other, just laughing about nothing. 

And it’s then, as they're laughing, that Rapunzel says, "God, I think I could spend the rest of my life here, just with you."

Cassandra's too late to stop herself from blurting out, "Then why don't you?"

“Oh, Cass, you know I couldn’t,” Rapunzel frowns, looks away. “I’ve got people back in the village, I’ve got Eugene and my parents and- I just couldn’t.”

Despite everything that’s telling her not to say more, Cassandra murmurs, “It’s not like you wouldn’t be able to visit them, you know.”

“I know, it’s just…” She looks frustrated, like Cassandra said something irrefutably true she would like to argue against. “I don’t know.”

“Afraid of living with a witch?” She raises an eyebrow, only half joking. 

“No, of course not! I trust you, utterly and completely. It’s just that… I mean, you’re my best friend, and I love you, but…” Rapunzel’s gaze drifts away.

“But not like that,” Cassandra states, a matter of fact.

“Not like what?” She does look confused then, like she really doesn’t know what she means.

“Like how you like Eugene,” she shrugs, turns her head to hide her tears. “And that’s fine.”

“Cass-” Rapunzel stops, grabbing her hand and making her look at her.

And then she’s leaning in and Cassandra can’t stop herself from doing the same and then they’re  _ kissing _ and it is all she’s ever wanted and all she’s ever needed. She can feel herself crying, can feel Rapunzel wiping away her tears and telling her it’s okay and maybe, maybe, it really is.

**Author's Note:**

> For the recipe that Cassandra and Rapunzel cooked together, https://www.archanaskitchen.com/leek-mushroom-lemon-risotto-recipe


End file.
